Make greenhouse initiative stronger

Published 5:11 pm, Friday, July 21, 2017

As a pediatrician and a mother, I worry about the impact of climate change on children's health. Climate change threatens everyone's health and well-being, especially children.

Right now, New York and eight other states have an opportunity to clean up our air by reducing pollution through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate cap-and-trade program intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and expand renewable energy.

The Trump administration's harmful environmental policies endanger our communities' and the environment — making local and state action critical. This is why strengthening RGGI — right now — is so important. Several governors of RGGI states have made lofty promises about combatting climate change. The question is, given the opportunity to actually do something, will they?

Climate change is already exacerbating many health problems. One such threat is worsening air pollution, particularly ground-level ozone, a component of smog. Ground-level ozone is created when pollution from tailpipes and power plants react with sunlight and heat. The hotter the day, the worse it is, and New York City, for example, is a hotspot for ozone pollution. The American Lung Association's 2017 "State of the Air Report" gave failing grades for three of the city's five boroughs for high ozone days.

High levels of ozone can lead to breathing problems for everyone, but especially kids with asthma. Asthma patients are the first to feel the effects of poor air quality: more frequent and severe asthma attacks, more emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Asthma is one of the biggest reasons children miss school.

The burden of asthma does not affect all children equally. Kids living in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be diagnosed with asthma than kids in higher-income neighborhoods.

In addition to the tremendous toll that asthma takes on children and their caregivers, the social and economic costs of asthma are far-reaching. The State Department of Health estimated in 2014 the annual overall cost of asthma in New York at $1.3 billion.

There is good news. New York has seen recent declines in overall asthma deaths, hospitalizations and asthma prevalence among children in the Medicaid program. Further progress remains essential. Furthermore, New York has strong leadership from many of its elected officials on climate change and clean air policies. New York has begun to invest in clean, safe energy sources to reduce air pollution. More must be done, and quickly, as President Donald Trump and many members of Congress are dismantling federal air quality and environmental protections.

So what can concerned citizens do to continue the push for clean energy, clean air, and a healthy future for our children?

We can call on our elected leaders in New York to strengthen RGGI. Since 2008, RGGI has aided in reducing carbon emissions and air pollutants from large fossil-fuel fired power plants in New York and throughout the Northeast. As of 2014, it has been estimated that RGGI has led to fewer heart attacks and reduced adult mortality providing New York with over $800 million in health savings.

These gains are promising, but they are not enough. As I write this, the RGGI-participating states, including New York, are determining its next phase. As of now, RGGI states are required to reduce carbon pollution by 2.5 percent each year. Doubling the carbon pollution reductions to 5 percent each year would provide more than $2 billion in health benefits over the next decade — more than double what would be achieved by continuing business as usual.

Along with reducing pollution faster, money generated by the cap-and-trade market should be heavily invested in the communities most impacted by air pollution and climate change. By contacting Gov. Andrew Cuomo, we push him to make RGGI as strong as it can be, and benefit the people who need it most.

Dr. Lauren Zajac is a pediatrician in New York City, a member of the national board of directors for Physicians for Social Responsibility and a member of its New York chapter.